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. 2 Shee tsSheet 1. S. G. TYLER.

- Circular Clasps for Sewing" Machines. I No. 24,183. Patented. May 24, 1859.

- 2 Sh'eets -Sh'eet 2. S. G. TYLER.

' Circular Clasps for Sewing: Machines.- No. 24,183. Y T Patented May 24, 1859.

N. PETERS. PhowLilhugnpher. Wasll n nnnnnn C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

srEPHEN o. TYLER, OF QUINCY, ILLINoIs, AssIeNoE ro HIMSELF AND G. I. SAAGE AND I. w. BARNUM, or SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CIRCULARCI AMPS FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. 24,] 83, dated May 524, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN G. TYLER, of Quincy, Adams county, in the State of Illinois, have invented new and useful improvements. in machinery for sewing circular or curved or ornamental work, together with a new apparatusfor the manufacture of caps, &c., the same to be used in combination with any of the various kinds of sewing-machines known, and whereby circles and parts of circles may be sewed with great accuracy and 7 red lines)'being over the needle-hole.

facility, and entirely dispensing with the necessity of basting the tip-seam of cloth caps, and thus producing an important saving in the cost and at the same time improving the quality and evenness of the "work; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full and clear description of my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, that make part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a plan view, showing a portion of a table with the needle-hole of any of the various sewing-machines in use, with an adjustable arm attached by a screw at one end'to' the table, the other forming an independent center around which the material to be sewed, either with or without a circular apparatus for holding the tips and sides and quarters of caps, revolves. The figure shows the cap apparatus with its periphery in close proximity with the needle-hole. This arm, being attached to the table by a screw, makes this center adjustable toward or from the needle-hole, thus adapting it to various figures and to different diameters or sizes of caps, as well as to oval and spiral forms, at pleasure. Fig.2 is a sectional representation of the table, the needle-hole, and the adjustable center, with the apparatus resting on a point in a step, and representing, also, the method of constructing the apparatus and the manner of holding cap tips and quarters and of presenting the edges which form the seam to the place where the needle works to be sewed, the cloth (shown in The spring is also shown for gripping the several parts which form the apparatus, with the cap in place, while the feed, acting upon the edge, moves the material forward in the usual way to present each portion of the scam in succession to the needle. The whole operation is thus made automaticor self-acting without interfering with or in any way changing the sew- Ing-machine or any of its feeding parts. Fig.

3 shows the adjustable arm with a .point in 7 place of astep. When thus made the step maybe made in the under side of the apparatus, simply reversing the step and point, and in this way circular ornamental work may be performed without the apparatus shown for holding caps. It will be seen that the adjustability of this arm enables me to gradually change the relative positions of the needle and the independent center while the seam or ornamental work is being performed, and thus to sew ovals or spirals as well as circles and waved-lines.

The nature of my invention consists in arranging and constructing a central disk, 6, and combining the same with a convex clampingdisk, d, and a fiat sustaining-disk, c, substantially as shown in the drawings, for the purpose of dividing the crown and quarters of caps or equivalent parts of other circular sewing, and in presenting the edge of the fabric to the needle tobe sewed by a sewing-ma-v chine without changing any of the parts of said machine, as set forth.

To enable others to make and use my in vention, I refer to the drawings, and remark that my improvements are applicable to the various sewing-machines in use without alteration in their feeding apparatus.

I first construct an arm, a, with a slot atone end and a point or step, 0, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, at

the other end. This .arm I attach by means of a screw in the slot to the table a, Fig. 1, 0, Figs. 2 and 3, forming an independent center which'supports and controls the direction of the material to be sewed. The diameter of the. circle to' be sewed determines the relative position of this center with the needle-hole b, as

shown in Figs. 1 and'2. The arm and point c, Fig. 3, is intended to be used for ornamenting the surface of cap-trimmings and other fancy work; and for this work the cap apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is dispensed with, and the center of the figure to be made is placed uponthe point e, which is then ad- 7 justed to the proper distance from the needle-v hole, and the work placed under the feed-foot or pressure-pad, and as the feed carries the material forward the center 0 will cause the same to move around itself, forming a circle or anyportionof a circle desired. By changing the position of the center 0 gradually as the feed advances the material, a spiral figure v f, in section, of nearly equal diameters, and

one concave or dished plate, d. The edges or circumferences of these three plates are to bear upon each other and form a clamp for holding the tip and sides of a cloth cap to be sewed. The spring 9, Figs. 1 and 2, serves as a grip, which causes the apparatus d, e, and f to act as clamps around their edges. Fig. 2 shows that the plates (1, e, and f are separate plates, held together by the spring which bears upon the centers. .The bottom plate, f, has a center pin extending downward into the step c and extending upward to' a point fitting into a recess in the middle plate, 6, at e, and the middle plate, 6, has a center pin, 0, which extends upward through the upper or concave d at d. It will thus be seen that this arrangement and construction of d, e, and f, with their center pins, when gripped by the spring g, form an apparatus adapted to receive and hold the tip and sides of a cap with their edges projecting so as to form a seam. The upper lip to the spring 9 is fitted to the pin 0", and the under lip has a slot cut into it to receive the pin at 0. To prepare the cap I raise the upper lip of the spring from the pin 0. and withdraw the spring I then separate the plates (1, e, and f and place the tip-' cloth upon the plate f with the point passing through the cloth at the center a. e is then placed upon the point which enters the step or recess, and the plate 6 bears upon the tip-' cloth, keeping the same smooth. I then place the quarters upon the plate 6, with their tip edges in contact with the edge of the tip-cloth, the two being properly arranged and adjusted for the scam. I then place the plate cl over the pine and apply the spring g, as seen in Figs. 1.and.2. The cap is represented by the red lines in Fig. 2. The apparatus, with the cap, is then placed in the step c, and the edges for the seam put under the feed-foot or pressure-pad, when, the machine being put in motion, the seam is sewed in a perfect circle automatically. l

I am aware that a circular-clamp feedingmachine was patented by Wm. A. Johnston for sewing straight as well as curved seams in the manufacture of garments; but such clamps were fitted on a shaft and geared to andforming a constituent part of the organized sewing machine, the clamps themselves feeding the work; besides, the shaft necessarily precluded the application of that machine to the manufacture of caps orto the ornamenting of the various kinds of work hereinbefore referred to as the proper uses of my invention.

I am aware, also, that Wm. 0. Watson described a circular concave feeding apparatus connected to the machine by a shaft and 00g gearing, the clamps forming a constituent part of the'machine, which feeding was performed by the-gearing at the center of the clamps. I do not, therefore, claim a circular clamp as described by Johnson or by Watson, nor in any way as combined with a sewing-machine for feeding or otherwise by them or by others; nor do I claim an adjustable center; but

What I do claim as my invention, and which STEPHEN G. TYLER.

\Vitnesses:

J. R. VAN DOORN, THOMAS T. WOODRUFF. 

